Ex-Nation Journalist Appointed To Rachel Ruto's Office

Former Nation Media Group (NMG) audience engagement producer, Augustine Sang was appointed to First Lady Rachel Ruto's office as the Head of Digital.

This has been confirmed by a source aware of happenings at the Office of The First Lady (OFL) when reached out to by Viral Tea.

A spot check on his LinkedIn account revealed that he began the new role in February 2023, a position which was not made public until the Aga Khan University's (AKU) Graduate School of Media and Communications took to social media to congratulate him for the new role.

A photo of Augustine Sang, who was appointed the Head of Digital at the Office of the First Lady in February 2023. /LINKEDIN

"Join us in congratulating Augustine Sang, an alumnus of our Master of Arts in Digital Journalism Programme, for being appointed as the Head of Digital at the Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya," AKU stated on Tuesday, August 29.

As the Head of Digital, Sang has been driving growth and strategic planning by evolving the Office of the First Lady into the digital age. His focus is on creating new value for Rachel Ruto's office through the smart use of digital tools, platforms, technologies, services, and processes.

Sang is expected to maintain an overview of all online communications, external-facing digital products and social media across the OFL, developing and promoting standards and processes to ensure quality, usability and consistency for the audiences in Kenya.

He will also be expected to manage major digital projects and ensure relationships with external stakeholders and engagement with OFL staff and audiences are all managed effectively as well as keep on top of new and innovative ways to present the OFL's digital content, proposing and experimenting with ways to develop its content in line with changing digital trends and audience preferences.

Sang began his career in 2011 as a mobile money agent and a freelance academic writer in 2015 where he compiled up to par assignments for international clients for one year.

He joined the Uasin Gishu County Government as a Communications and PR Intern in 2016 for four months, his first foray into the national government.

At NMG, he joined in 2016 as an editorial intern before moving up the ranks to become the regional media house's social media editor and audience engagement producer before he left the Twin Towers in March 2023.

He joined the likes of Emmanuel Juma, the former Managing Editor of NMG's Broadcasting Division who was appointed the Head of Communication in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, August 16.

Juma and Sang were included among the likes of Francis Gachuri, Joshua Arap Sang, Karen Karimi Knaust, Kennedy Muriithi, Hussein Mohamed and other former journalists hired into government positions by President William Ruto's administration.

CS Alfred Mutua meets veteran journalist Emmanuel Juma at his office on August 16, 2023. /ALFRED MUTUA